Wine from Archery Summit

Gary Andrus launched Archery Summit in 1993, infatuated by Pinot Noir and the capacity the Willamette Valley seemed to have for it. The Dundee Hills in particular caught his eye, because it shares similar growing conditions with Burgundy, France, and some of the most acclaimed Pinot Noir vineyards on earth.

The spirit of site-specific wine persists at Archery Summit. We have assembled an impressive family of vineyards over the years: five estate vineyards and three grower sites covering four unique American Viticultural Areas.

The world-renowned Willamette Valley stretches roughly 100 miles from Oregon’s largest city, Portland, south to Eugene. This fertile and photogenic expanse of land, named after the mighty river that runs along its spine, has become one of the most prized winegrowing regions on earth.

Within the valley are several appellations, each offering its own geographical and viticultural distinctions. One of the oldest and most respected of them, the Dundee Hills, rests in the core of the valley amid rich volcanic soils and high-elevation terrain perfectly suited for Pinot Noir.

The Dundee Hills American Viticultural Area (AVA) was established in 2005, but the appellation’s promise was recognized much earlier. The first post-Prohibition commercial wine grapes planted here date back to 1965, located just down the road from Archery Summit. Of the Willamette Valley’s seven subappellations, this one has the oldest vines and most prestige.

Pioneering producers have long been attracted to the AVA’s soils, climate, elevation, and orientation. Commonly referred to as the Red Hills because of its iron-rich Jory soils, this rolling appellation runs north to south, parallel to the Willamette River, allowing for an optimal ripening schedule.

To walk the dramatic rows of estates like Arcus Vineyard and Summit Vineyard is to set foot on the fertile byproduct of ancient and cataclysmic events. Valley-carving volcanic flows and subterranean rifts molded the Dundee Hills over the course of millions of years. When the Missoula Floods submerged the Willamette Valley in water some 15,000 years ago—depositing sedimentary soils along the way—the Dundee Hills were untouched, perched above the flood line and able to retain their volcanic pedigree.

Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Gris adore the well-draining soils and insulated climate secured by the Coast Range to the west and the Cascades to the east.

Archery Summit is based in the heart of the AVA, with all of its five vineyards rooted within its boundaries. The Dundee Hills AVA is known for producing Pinot Noir on par with that of Burgundy, the birthplace of the variety.